My Preschool Drop Out Heads to Grad School

My Preschool Drop Out Heads to Grad School

Maureen Rossi

My new knee replacement and I looked upon the three flights of stairs as if they were Mount Everest; the one-hundred year old building had twenty-two stairs per flight opposed to the standard twelve.   Ascending slowly, I was taking in the sounds and scents of the many inhabitants of the Washington Avenue Apartment building.   I was nauseated as floor two housed one very unhygienic cat owner.  

I was looking forward to the evening with my husband in Binghamton – a short stop on our sojourn to Buffalo for his 90 year old Aunt Gloria’s wake and funeral.    Arriving in our son’s vacant apartment, I was surprised that I did not need a mask or penicillin to enter the large studio.  I was pleasantly surprised to find he had cleaned and bleached the refrigerator and freezer before headed down to Long Island after graduation.  We kept his apartment all summer at a cost of $500 a month because our twenty-two year old would be headed back up for a one-year graduate program in September.  He is a Mechanical Engineer and attends the Thomas Watson School of Engineering at S.U.N.Y. Binghamton.

Bryan spent the summer working for the New York Power Authority where he was whisked to power plants all over the state and was wined and dined by men in the industry.   In between Sushi and fine Nappa reds, he lived with his girlfriend of four years in Brooklyn for half the summer and then my husband moved them to microscopic digs in Astoria.  

Like many young adult children from Long Island, he came home on weekends to drink our good beer, eat our food and utilize our pool and boat.  We loved every expensive second of it.   A comical witty young man, he doesn’t fit the standard stereotype of an Engineer.   Captain of the Water polo team up at school he is quite social and enjoys extreme sports – you know jumping from airplanes, scuba-diving, etc. 

In between cleaning his windows and floors and bleaching the kitchen, like clips of 8 mm film, images of Bryan’s childhood danced in my head.  He was a beautiful baby – platinum blond hair and fat little Irish face with skin as white as snow.  He was a happy little baby.  From the moment he came out of the womb, his sister, two years his senior, was his very best friend.  He wanted to do everything Anne Marie did so when he was three the extremely shy and sensitive boy announced he wanted to go to school.  

I heeded and found a preschool for Bryan; however, after just a day he was insisting he didn’t want to go back.  This went on for a few days – he began to fret and cry at night, he started to refuse food.  I literally watched the very happy little boy experience stress and sadness.  I was upset by this; I was in a quandary.  I had my pediatrician, a mother of six who was also my childhood pediatrician saying it was essential I keep him in the school.  My mother-law with a degree in education also insisted it would be in his best interest to stay in pre-school.    She felt it would help Bryan when he started kindergarten because has born at the very end of November and would be the youngest in his grade as it was.

I couldn’t do it, it defied my maternal instincts.  I listened to my twenty-nine year old mommy heart and I let Bryan drop out of preschool.   He and I spent the year visiting dozens of museums, going to children’s theater, zoos and aquariums.  We did arts and crafts, we baked and fished and hiked and watched many films together.  We ate dirty water dogs in Central Park and discussed the history of the great metropolis.    It was a very special year and when he marched off to kindergarten the following year at the tender age of four, he was fine.  Ok, maybe it took a few tears and weeks but he was fine.

As I dusted the pile of video games in my man-boy’s apartment I smiled.  Bryan and I had come along way on our education journey since then.   I found a water gun on the floor beneath his Brooklyn Brewery sign.  I found stacks of books and papers with the scribblings of a mad man, algorithms, formulas and evidence of his complex course load. I found a note from his sister from her travels to Ireland this year and the Irish whiskey candy she brought back for him.

Bryan Rossi and Jen WynkoopWith the sounds of revelers from Dillingers Irish pub making their way up to the third floor apartment, I thought to myself, this is the most expensive overnight stay of my life.   We paid $1,500 for one night and we had to clean the place and fill it with food.  My husband Jay and I laughed at the absurdity of the scenario.  Over shots of Patron and glasses of filtered water I thought about my son’s life, his amazing accomplishments and what the future holds for him.  His beautiful girl Jen is a successful producer at a major network at 30 Rock; however both she and Bryan have their eyes set on L.A. after he completes grad school.  I’m cool with it – it has always been my strongest belief that God just lends us our children for just a short while.  As the glow of the Patron settled over me and warmed my sentimental heart – I thought how lucky I am that God lent me this amazing human being to raise and guide an educate – that he lent me my preschool drop out. 

Labor Day Exit For Planning Dept. Director Frank DeRubeis

“Frank DeRubeis is an exceptional man with a wide breadth of knowledge in so many fields.  That knowledge, I believe, inspired so many of his planning initiatives. There was never any doubt about his commitment and dedication to the Town of Smithtown and it is for that reason that I relied and trusted his judgments and advice. So many of his planning initiatives are now part of the Smithtown landscape and have helped make Smithtown the great town it is. I shall sorely miss him.” Smithtown Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio.

Frank DeRubeis in 1973 and 2014When Frank DeRubeis leaves his office on Friday, August 29th (retirement begins on September 1)  it will be for the last time as Director of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Smithtown. A position he has held since 1985. 

Frank began his career as a planner for the town in 1973 earning an annual salary of $8,500. Thirty-one years later he enjoys the status of being the highest paid employee in the town. The economics of retirement is what drove him to retire. DeRubeis is 68 and in good health, but he is realistic, retirement ensures that his wife will be provided for should something happen to him. He sees retirement as necessary rather than something he is doing willingly. “Everyone keeps telling me congratulations, but it doesn’t feel like congratulations. I don’t want to be rude to people, but it’s not something I feel like celebrating.” 

Sitting with Frank in early August he reflected on his thirty-one year career in Smithtown. Clearly he is proud of his staff and their professionalism. He ferverntly supports a resident’s right to access information and keeping public records open. Ask about his successes and he talks about the Galleria project on Terry Rd. in Smithtown. A once blighted site that housed a concrete operation, sand mine and construction equipment storage facility, it was transformed into a thriving development of homes, condominiums and apartments.  The residential area is surrounded by commercial development - a CVS, Maureen’s Kitchen, Tutor Time and more. He talks about the Charles P. Toner Park in Nesconset, the site of the former Amory.  But clearly he is most proud of the 9/11 Memorial Park on Main St. in Smithtown. The project, according to Frank, enjoyed the support of the public, many of whom made generous donations thus making it one of the few town projects where money was not an issue. The park is not only filled with memories it is functional and visited by residents and those visiting Smithtown. 

DeRubeis has a few regrets. The fact that he couldn’t convice the Town to take over the Kings Park Psychiatric Center still stings. “I felt from day one that we should have taken it all. The entity that cares most about the commity will be the Town, not Albany, you know, and I thought we should handle it just like Islip handled Central Islip. Yes it would have cost us a lot of effort, but I think in the long run if you have the chance to direct what’s in your town, you should handle it.”  Not completing the Master Plan is another regret, as is losing the battle over the Hess station on Harned and Jericho Tpke. in Commack. 

While Frank DeRubeis has many supporters, there are some who blame him for Smithtown’s stagnation and accuse him of being an obstructionist.  “Not true! Our records tell a different story.” DeRubeis explained that applicants often come in without complete or accurate applications making delays unavoidable.  “I oppose projects that I believe are harmful or injurious to the public.” Frank’s philosophy has remained the same since he started in 1973 ” I have to remind my planners, our job is finding out what the community wants and then to figure out how to get what they want in the best ways possible. It’s a means towards and end. You’re not implementing your ideas, you are getting the community what it wants. Those are the people who are hiring you. That’s important. A lot of times people and planners are coming up with stuff because they want to do all these crazy things, but the issue is you look at a community and you try to discern what their needs are and then define how they want to develop. If people in the Town of Smithtown want to change downtown Smithtown to have ten story buidings and parking garages, that’s their choice, it’s not up to me.”

What’s in DeRubeis’s future? “Well I have told the Supervisor I am not going into private consulting.” Retirement from Smithtown does not mean that Frank is leaving the Town completely. He would very much like to complete his work on the Master Plan and he is more than willing to donate his time if town board members agree. Photography is a hobby of his and he plans to take  photography classes at Stony Brook University.  Teaching at a college or planning in a different capacity are ideas he is considering. 

Frank DeRubeis will leave his office on August 29 and his life will change and so will Smithtown. All the best to you in the next chapter of your life Frank DeRubeis!

Pool Guys Tournament At Smithtown Senior Center

Pool Table Diplomacy - Smithtown and Huntington Senior Citizens Rack ‘Em Up!

The Smithtown Senior Citizen Department recently hosted a friendly game of pool - actually a tournament between a group of seniors from Smithtown and their counterparts in Huntington.

The pool room was filled with both players and spectators for the   afternoon.  The teams were evenly matched and the mood - serious and quiet, as the players plotted their strategies. In the end, victory was declared as a great time was had by all and the Smithtown players were invited to travel to Huntington for round 2!

Laura Greif, Program Director at the Smithtown Senior Citizen  Department who hosted the event, said “Billiards is just one of many activities we sponsor, but an important one, as our pool room is a very busy place. I would like to point out that the sport is not just for men - we have a very competitive group of female players as well!”

The pool room is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm. All equipment is provided free of charge and the Center has three regulation size tables.  Tables are available on a first come first served basis. 

New players are always welcome to the pool room and our entire Senior Center.  Stop by and visit us one day soon! 

For more information about the Smithtown Senior Citizen Department come visit us at 420 Middle Country Road in Smithtown, call us at 631-360-7616 or visit us at  HYPERLINK “http://www.smithtowninfo.com” www.smithtownny.gov.

Theater Review - "The Elephant Man"

THEATER REVIEW “The Elephant Man””

Produced by: BroadHollow Theatre Company - Lindenhurst - Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

Our English literature, and in particular our American stage, is replete with drama that plays the grotesque against the beautiful, the evil against the godly, the freakish against the normal. We need look no farther than the tale of ugly Cyrano de Bergerac pursuing the lovely Roxanne … sinister King Richard III murdering two innocent young cousins in the Tower of London … or simian King Kong’s infatuation with a wholesome ingénue played by Faye Wray.

That said, I found the wordy plot of “The Elephant Man” a bit too familiar, when it could have been an overall jaw-dropper. But there, the criticism ends.

As it is, this play, staged in the ‘I can almost touch you’ confines of the comfortable BroadHollow Studio Theater in Lindenhurst, becomes a tour de force for the magnificently gifted Michael Quattrone who plays the title role to near-perfection … no, make that outright perfection … because it’s hard to imagine Quattrone (or anyone) improving on his interpretation of the real-life Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick, who for some reason is called John in this play written by Tony Award winning Bernard Pomerance.

It must be acknowledged that “The Elephant Man’ debuted on Broadway to critical acclaim, and closed at the Booth Theater only after turning in more than 900 performances! Like so many successful Broadway shows, the drama had been introduced at the Hampstead Theater in London, later playing in repertory at the Royal National Theatre. The play then seemed to strike a nerve among American audiences when it ran off-Broadway for three months at the York Theatre. It was an auspicious beginning for a thoroughly promising show.

Significantly, “The Elephant Man” is based on the life of a gentleman who lived in the Victorian era, and was known internationally for the extreme deformity of his body. While the story remains faithful to a detailed description of Joseph Merrick’s unique disfigurement, the production of the play dealing with the deformity has always steadfastly refrained from the use of prosthetic makeup to display Merrick’s malady.

The resulting challenge to improvisers has been seized upon by stars such as David Schofield, Bruce Davidson, David Bowie, and Mark Hamill, but none, in this critic’s view, has required more skill than that shown by Quattrone in meeting director Marian Waller’s demands.

In a rare post-performance interview, I asked the Hofstra graduate if he’d used tape, or wax, or other face-altering materials to enable him to endure the 90-minute, no-intermission marathon that is “The Elephant Man.”

“Just a lot of stretching,” he replied with a self-effacing grin. But most actors couldn’t have pulled off the hour-and-a-half-long simulation for five minutes!

The six other players in “Elephant Man” are capable … their costumes are adequately Period Victorian … the lighting works quite well … but in the final analysis, everyone at BroadHollow in Lindenhurst on Sunday was tuned on the ‘maker of the feast.’ Once more, his name is Michael Quattrone, and make no mistake, he will be heard from again and again in theater circles. Furthermore we will be proud to say we traveled to the South Shore venue to see him deliver this astounding theatrical performance.

__________________________________________________

Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due this summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans.

It's What We Do! Commack - Kings Park Rotarians Helping Others

Small but effective, that’s how people describe the Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club.   

Commack - Kings Park Rotary Club President Phil Facquet recently recognized Rotarians Elsie Service, John Washington and Arthur Olmstead for their work on the water project. The Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club is a small club (about 14 members) that does big things.  In 2012 club members helped fundraise to build a well in Myanmar to provide clean drinking water to an orphanage. In 2013 club members completed a healing garden at the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) in Kings Park. Recently the club has taken on another international project. This year they are working  to help provide clean water for 300 families living in the area of  Molatuhan-Alto, Lopez Jeana, Misamis Occidental, Mindanao, the Phillippines. 

How do they get things done? They invite Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike to work together and support projects.  In 2013 the club worked with the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation to fund the garden at the NRSP but it was a donation by non-Rotarian Eric Hagenbruch of Finesse Landscape design in St. James that made the garden a beautiful reality.

Building a well is not cheap but walking away from 300 families without clean water is not an option for club members. So Rotarians will continue to do what they do every year which is to  dig deep into their pockets and hope others to do the same. “We are Rotarians it’s what we do” said one Rotarian. If you would like to make a donation to the Commack - Kings Park Rotary Club’s water project checks can be made out to  Rotary District 7255 Foundation, Inc. and mailed to Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club PO Box 96, Commack, NY 11725.  To learn more about the club visit http://www.commackrotary.org/